Grill the experts at BBQ town hall meeting

Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service photo by Blair Fannin Beef tenderloin was served at the recent barbecue town hall meeting at Texas A&M University in College Station.

Barbecue experts at Texas A&M are having a special Texas Barbecue Town Hall meeting in December for pitmasters and restaurant owners to learn the economic forecast and other factors that will affect their businesses going forward.

The meeting will be at the Kleberg Animal and Food Sciences Center and the Rosenthal Meat Center. Speakers include David Anderson, a Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service livestock economist who will provide an update on livestock and meat markets, and Kerri Gehring, associate professor of animal science and president of the International HACCP Alliance, who will share an overview of food safety and regulatory issues.

“The more informed business people are, the better decisions they make for the success of their business,” said Jeff Savell, a leader of the Texas barbecue program at A&M and professor of animal science. “It’s a struggle being a small-business person. I think part of our service mission at Texas A&M is to help others … and this is a great group to provide any assistance we can do.”

This is the third year for the town hall meeting. Savell said he used to get a lot of phone calls from people asking about beef prices and other economic factors that were helping or hurting their businesses. Somewhere he heard Anderson give a commodities update in another meeting and thought it would be a good idea to gather up barbecue people to talk about the same things.

The Town Hall meeting is unique because it’s only offered to people who work in the barbecue business. He said it lets them get a handle on the supply of the products they use, understand where pricing may be heading and learn other demands on the product.

There are other events offered throughout the year open to backyard enthusiasts, hobbyists and competitors.

Savell said the organizers chose Dec. 12 as the date to make sure Anderson would be available to talk and because lots of restaurants are closed Mondays. Last year, about 40 people came to the meeting. Savell said this year they already have 15 signed up.

“These guys today, they’re kind of the rock stars,” he said. “The Texas barbecue scene has become such a huge area of interest in people who want to go eat great food.”

To register for the meeting, email Savell at j-savell@tamu.edu or call 979-845-3992. There is no cost to register.

For more information regarding news from the Department of Animal Science, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Texas A&M University, please contact Maggie Tucker at maggie.tucker@tamu.edu or (979) 845-1542.